Breast surgery

Apart from melanoma, breast cancer is the most common cancer in women of all races. Women have a lifetime risk of 1 in 25 in South Africa. 

Most women with breast cancer need to have some type of surgery as part of their treatment plan. There are different types of breast surgery that may be done for different reasons, depending on the situation. For instance, surgery may be done to:

• Reduce symptoms of advanced cancer
• Remove as much of the cancer as possible 
• Determine whether the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes under the arm
• Restore the shape of the breast shape after the cancer is removed

Types of breast surgery

• A mastectomy is the surgical removal of all of the breast tissue.
• Lumpectomy. A lumpectomy is also known as breast-conserving surgery. It is the removal of the tumour and a small amount of the surrounding tissue.
• Lymph node removal. This is a surgical procedure used to take out one or more of the lymph nodes. This procedure can take place during lumpectomy and mastectomy if the biopsy shows that breast cancer has spread outside the milk duct. 
• Breast reconstruction. This procedure aims to rebuild the breast after mastectomy or lumpectomy. 
• Prophylactic mastectomy. This procedure is a preventive removal of the breast to lower the risk of breast cancer in high-risk individuals. 
• Prophylactic ovary removal is a preventive surgery that lowers estrogen in the body, making it harder for estrogen to stimulate the progression of breast cancer.

Recovery

After surgery, you're likely to have some pain or discomfort, but everyone’s experience is different. There are different strengths of pain relief treatments available, and they can be given as tablets, suppositories or injections. Dr Webner will prescribe pain killers according to your level of pain and other needs. You may find changing positions and using pillows to support the wound can help reduce pain or discomfort. It's important to get enough rest and to avoid any strenuous activities. 

It will take several weeks to recover.

The recovery times for breast cancer surgeries are:

• Lumpectomy: Most people get back to day-to-day activities within 5–10 days.
• Mastectomy: People may feel like themselves again 3–4 weeks after surgery.
• Mastectomy with reconstruction: This procedure has the longest recovery time and takes up to 6-8 weeks.